Director Beckett's Retirement
by Guarding My Castle
Summary: Katherine Beckett is retiring after 30 years with the Federal Government. This story occurs in the future
1. Chapter 1

**All good things belong to ABC Disney and Marlow**  
**They own Castle/Beckett and everyone else**

**I only own my brain. The brain that writes this junk.**  
**I am willing to trade it for a future draft pick.**

**I wish to make it clear from the beginning. I write AU. NO CANON**  
**This story does not follow the TV show. **

**Because I cannot figure out how to follow "Watershead" without getting ill**

* * *

Katherine Beckett has entered the ballroom from the main corridor and has attempted to make her way up to the head table without much success. She is stopped by every person she comes into contact with. Most people are known to her personally, some she does not remember ever seeing before but everyone gives their congratulations

Each table in this large ballroom is filled with representatives from the most important government and even non government groups that reside inside the Beltway These DC. Dignitaries include Senators, Congressmen, Judges and senior staff from every Federal Law Enforcement organization. The Attorney General's office. The NSA, CIA Homeland Security, and naturally the FBI is well represented

As she slowly manages to get closer to the table located across the front of the assembly hall, she looks up to the display screens located in every corner of the room. Each one of the video walls contains a different image that changes every few seconds. One slide is of her being presented a commendation by the then FBI Director, then another commendation award being handed to her by the President. Some are images of the actual documents awarded to her over the last thirty years. The number is citations is impressive.

Intermixed are location photographs taken at the scene of an investigation where she was an agent involved in the case. It is evident that her appearance has not changed much since she began her current career path. She is still today as radiantly beautiful as she was those many years ago

The central video screen has one still image displaying the invitation to this event.

* * *

**_The President of the United States, The Members Congress and the Justices of the Supreme Court_**

**_Invite you to The Celebration of _**

**_The Retirement of The Director of the FBI_**

**_Katherine Houghton Beckett_**

**_On June 16, 2043_**

**_7:00 O'clock PM In the_**

**_The Regency Ballroom_**

**_Four Seasons Beltway Hotel_**

**_R.S.V.P._**

* * *

She stares at the screen. This night represents the closure of her life in law enforcement. Forty-five years fighting crime ends tonight. She will officially no longer be a cop. Her time fighting crime is over. She will be able to go home and not think about criminals ever again

As Kate finally arrives at the table and to the seat reserved for her, she is greeted by the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Dennis Ryan the son of Jenny and Kevin Ryan

"Dennis" She exclaims with joy in her voice and she gives him a hug "how are you?"

"I am doing very well Director Beckett"

"Dennis Ryan! I have been Aunt Kate since the day you were born. That will not ever change. So how are your mom and dad? I haven't talked to them in about two weeks. Getting ready for my retirement has taken almost every moment of my time"

"They are doing fantastic. Dad has his hands full at One Police Plaza and mom has all of her social duties as the commissioner's wife. But you know how it works. Being involved in government takes all your time and leaves very little left over for anything else"

"Oh I do understand. Were they able to come tonight?"

"They wouldn't miss it for the world. You know my Dad has always told his officers that if they don't fall in line he will call his personal friend the FBI Director to come up and take care of them. He said after tonight he will have to find a new threat to use on them"

"Very funny, Dennis"

"Aunt Kate, I need to talk to the convention coordinator. Let me get back to you later"

"I will see you then"

As Dennis walks away, Kate begins looking around the large ballroom. She is somewhat embarrassed at how much is being done in her honor. She believes that all she ever did was her job. That job that has meant so much to her over the years. The job that at one point she put up on the very top shelf in her life. That very dangerous top shelf. That place if something about the job fell off, it would hit you in the head and cause permanante damage

She scans the room looking for any familiar faces and quickly finds them. At the table closest to the stage she sees Kevin and Jenny Ryan. Dennis was right. They did make it. Along with them are Javier and Lanie Esposito joining them is their oldest son, Roy, named after their former captain. Seated with the two former detectives and partners is the now retired Victoria Gates. Before her retirement she had achieved the rank of Deputy Chief with the department

Kate smiles and when she sees that she has acquired the attention of the table and she waves to the group. They all return the acknowledgement

Kate sits down at her assigned location at the head table as the dignitaries have begun arriving to the stage. Across from the MC is a seat reserved for the President. Beckett can't imagine the President of The United States being present and speaking on her behalf. Next to him is the Chief Justice of The Supreme Court.

On her side of the table is seated the President of the Senate and then The Speaker of the House

During the past thirty years, Kate has been present for several of these events from memorial services and retirement to awards, but never has she been the center of attention like this and it is not making her feel very comfortable.

At preciously 7:00 PM the dinner service begins with the delivery of the salad. The rooms is a buzz with the activity of the servers and conversations at each table

During the dinner service Kate is having a light conversation with the two leaders of congress. Fortunately this night is not about politics or criminals, but it is about her and no one else.

Her attention is also drawn out to the room filled with dignitaries not just from every branch of Federal Law Enforcement but local New York as well. She sees several tables filled with her old friends from the 12th

These friends from back home in New York remind Kate about what she left behind there when she came to DC all those many years ago. This memory brings a tear to her eyes. She has missed them all very much. But at the same time she is proud of them and their individual accomplishments.

Detective Roslyn Karpowski is now Chief of Detectives, Officer Ann Hastings is now Captain at the 54th precinct.

Javier Esposito is The Police Chief and his wife Lanie is the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of New York

And of course Kevin Ryan is now the Police Commissioner. What would the NYPD be without an Irish Catholic Police Commissioner?

There are two people that she wishes could have been here but they are both gone. She knows they would have been proud of what she has done with her life Her Mother and her Father. Her dad passed away about fifteen years ago. She buried him with his beloved Johanna. "Together Forever"

All of the dignitaries have arrived including the President. The servers have delivered the main course.

Beckett's mind drifts again to the assembled friends in the room. The fellow New Yorkers that she has fortunately been able to see or at least talk to on a fairly regular basis. Having the flexibility to set her own schedule and travel arrangements she has kept up with her old work companions. She was able to be at ceremonies for Kevin's appointment as commissioner and Esposito's swearing in as Police Chief

After the desserts are delivered, the room settles to the attendees only and then the Master of Ceremonies stands up before the assembled group.

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Dennis Ryan, your host for the evening. It is my pleasure to be able to honor a wonderful woman and to describe some of her achievements. Now I have a little confession to make. For those of you who know Kate Beckett, FBI Director, you know the business side of her. Well I know the other side of her. To me she is Aunt Kate so I have known her all my life. I have seen a different side than most of you have Just so you know, she does have the not business side where she can let her hair down

She once told her partner in the 12th that there was this one wild kinky thing she does like doing. And tonight we will attempt to show you that side of her"

His comments bring laughs from the audience and a hard eye roll from her

"For our first speaker. I want to present my favorite dad and New York Police Commissioner, Kevin Ryan"

Applause resounds from the room but an extra volume from the tables containing the fellow New Yorkers

She did not know that Ryan was a speaker tonight. Kate is watching as Kevin steps up to the rostrum and as he nears her, he leans down and whispers into her ear. "I promised I would not tell everything I know about you, only the juicy parts"

Beckett pokes his arm as he steps away from her. "Be nice Kev"

"Just the truth, nothing but the truth" He responds to Beckett

"Good evening. My name is Kevin Ryan and a little over thirty-five years ago, I was partnered up with a sassy female lead detective named Katherine Beckett. And I want to tell you a little about her. She had recently been transferred to homicide from vice where she had been checking out sex clubs in an area of New York called Dungeon Ally. Imagine that!"

He looks over to Kate and grins. A few laughs are returned in response for that comment

"We spent the next several years chasing murders as a trio of detectives Beckett, Esposito and myself. One of the more interesting cases involved the Russian mob. We had a civilian writer who had wormed his way into our group and he was attending a poker game with a group of killers. If you can picture Detective Beckett and the team listening in on this poker game hearing one of the players telling another in Russian that they were going to take out our poker buddy."

"Beckett steps out of the van and on the side of the street changed clothes and put on a micro mini dress and sashayed her way into the game and in perfect Russian rescued our buddy."

For Kate memories are sometimes difficult to deal with. This story has reminded her of their beginning. Her and Him

As Ryan continues his story of the early days of the partnership that now included Richard Castle, Kate's mind drifts to that night. When she heard the threat to kill Castle she had to do something. She was not going to let him die. Not on her watch. At the time it happened, she only concerned herself with someone getting hurt. Not that it mattered that it was Castle. She just didn't want anyone to have to deal with the extra paperwork.

But it didn't take long for all that to change for her

* * *

**I Don't plan for this to be a very long story. Just a few chapters**


	2. Chapter 2

It turned out that she did enter the building at just the right moment. It looked every bit like Castle was going to become the next body on Lanie's table had she been any later And Beckett couldn't let that happen

It was a good thing that she had learned Russian during college and understood the threat on Castle's life. And it didn't hurt that her training gave her the ability to take out the gun wheedling man. Thinking back on that day, she remembers how much Castle was caught off guard by her outfit and then he spent the rest of the time checking out her rear in that very skimpy dress. This again made her smile just a little.

Kate knew when she entered that building using her female charms that the two men guarding the door were checking her out and not doing the job they were hired to do. She was showing them a lot of skin, but that was the only way she could make an entry without badges and guns blazing.

Returning her thoughts to what Ryan is saying right now

"Beckett is attending a Charity Ball in an attempt to determine how criminals are selecting the target for their jewel theft and murder"

He has progressed to the Charity Ball she attended with Castle. Ryan tells the story of the crime and it being solved as if Beckett were the only investigator involved.

Kate wants to tell everyone that Rick not only got her in the ball, but he had bought her the dress to wear. She knew she looked good in it. Really good. She also knew that Castle had made the selection of that dress for its obvious appeal to the male eye. Specifically his eyes. She tried to play dumb when it came to what she did to him when she was around, but she knew how she affected him. Kate smiles to herself. She never did tell him where she hid her badge that night. She just left him guessing

Ryan continues his story "Then we had a new detective join the team. Her name was Nikki Heat"

The very mention of that name brings laughs from the group from the city

Ryan just had to bring up Nikki Heat. She has always been a little embarrassing to Kate especially after she had joined the FBI. She tried to not ever let Nikki get in the way of her professional duties, but sometimes Nikki's presence was just in the spotlight.

"We did have a lot of fun referring to Beckett as Nikki. We just didn't do it to her face"

Kate speaks out loud "Really?"

Kevin begins telling the story of the serial killer using bullets with the letters on each that spelled "Nikki Will Burn"

He gives the audience the impression that again Kate solved the crime all on her own without help from her partners, the FBI, or Castle. The man that saved her life by calling her just before her apartment blew up. The man who carried her out to safety. The man who gave her a place to live with no strings attached. The man she was starting to fall for

To a degree, Ryan bringing up the beginning of her with Castle causes Kate's heart to race just a little bit. More

Naturally, Ryan has to bring up the investigation into the sex clubs and how Beckett seemed to be relaxed talking about them. He did say she claimed it was because of her work investigating them is why she knew all about them not that she participated in them.

The more stories Ryan tells the more Kate thinks about her early relationship with Castle.

She had actually forgotten how much he annoyed her early on. Reliving those early days reminds her how hard she tried to push Castle away from her life. She had actually put away any thought about how hard she had pushed him and how hard he pushed back He just would not go away. No matter how hard she shoved him, he shoved right back.

How she loved that about him. The dance they started way back then. The dance that continued for the next five years

Beckett grabbed Kevin's arm and tried to pull him down away from the microphone. Of course this brings a round of laughter from the audience

"Before Director Beckett, as her last act with the FBI, has me arrested and force ably removed from the building, I wish to call up to the stage her other detective partner and now New York Police Chief, Javier Esposito"

Applause again abounds from the crowd as Javi bounces up to the stage

"Thank you for that welcome. I wish to first express my highest regards to Director Katherine Beckett for a job well done. From the initial five years with the Attorney General's office, then the FBI and now for the last ten years as FBI director. Under her leadership her organization has stopped several plots against our country and brought hundreds of criminals to justice. Countless lives have been saved and property protected."

He looks up from his notes "But I know the back story of Kate Beckett and I am here today to tell you about all of her earlier escapades"

Some cheers come from the New York tables

"I was already there when a young Detective Beckett came to the 12th She was green as a Leprechaun " Looking over to Ryan "Sorry about the Irish comment there Bro"

"I had to show her everything I knew. That explains why she is the best. She had the best teacher. ME!"

"I even had to show her where we kept the murder boards. After that she kept the board beside her desk. That way she never lost it"

Laughter echoes in the room

"In all seriousness, Katherine Beckett was the best homicide detective the 12th ever saw. Even to this day everyone else is compared to her accomplishments. She had the highest closure rate in the city. Current detectives pale in comparison to her accomplishments"

Sitting beside the current police chief listening to the accolades he is pouring on top of her, Kate wishes they would just stop. Ryan did not mention even once how much Rick did for the cases and now Javi is ignoring all the hard work that was done in this partnership by Castle.

Rick did most of the heavy lifting. He always came up with the solution. He made the job fun. I got used to him pulling my pigtails. Why are they ignoring him?

"We had many cases that could only be called unusual. In one instance Beckett and her civilian partner were kidnapped by a clandestine agency and taken to a secret place and questioned. They bugged her car then injected them with knockout drugs"

Beckett is again considering the entire story. She woke up with her head on Castle's shoulder like they had been sleeping together. When she looked at his face, she wanted to kiss him and she believes he wanted to do the same. But they stayed the distance to keep the relationship professional.

"Our leader and friend later teamed up with Homeland Security and she was able to locate and disarm a dirty bomb in the core of Manhattan therefore saving many hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in the process. And her story continues from there"

Listening to Javi finish the latest tale, she notices again that he makes it all about her. Never Him Why are they leaving Castle out of the story like he never existed?

"Then after many murders and murders, we came to a fork in the road. Kate Beckett's mother had been killed years before and we had been looking for the suspect. With the help of our consultant we located the trigger man but he was killed in an attempt to escape the station. Myself and Detective Ryan were later captured and held in an attempt to find out if Beckett knew who ordered her mother killed."

Kate takes a deep breath and slowly lets it escape her lings. This is still an emotional time for her

"Beckett and her partner distracted the guard to gain entry without gunfire and she rescued Ryan and me. Again the team owes its existence to the close partnership of its members and the great leadership of one senior detective"

In her head Kate remembers the events a little differently from what Esposito just described. Castle grabbed her head and pulled her into a firm but romantic kiss. After she regained her composure she vaguely remembers the guard approaching and her taking Castle by the neck and moaning into his mouth as she returned his kiss for all she was worth. Then somehow, with her head still swimming from the two kisses, she did a spin kick and knocked out the guard.

Esposito continues the story from his point of view "After another failed attempt on Detective Beckett's life, we later discovered the person that ordered Beckett's mother killed was none other than a Senator from New York. He was later charged and convicted of that crime and several other unrelated felonies."

"But her story does not end there. For the next part, I wish to introduce to you the woman that was our captain and now retired as Deputy Chief Victoria Gates. We called her Iron Gates"

Cheers and applause abound as Victoria approaches the podium


	3. Chapter 3

Deputy Chief Victoria Gates walks by Kate and leans in to Kate "I always knew that you would make it to the top"

Beckett smiles back "Thank you"

Chief Gates stands at the podium and looks out at the large assembled group. The group brought here tonight to honor one of their own. But she has decided to speak about Kate a little differently

"I am so pleased to be able to acknowledge this wonderful woman seated here today. Katherine Beckett was the finest detective I ever had the pleasure of working with. As many have said here today, she is the best example of dedication, honesty and strength in law enforcement."

"I wish I could take all the credit for her abilities and her being here today, but I am afraid not. I only had her as part of my command for a very short period of time. The first time I saw Detective Beckett she was reporting for duty after being on leave after being shot in the line of duty. A sniper involved in her mother's death had put a bullet into her heart at the funeral of Captain Roy Montgomery. So unfortunately for me, I cannot take all the credit for her being a great cop. I have to give credit where credit is due."

Gates looks to Kate "Captain Montgomery is mainly responsible for the quality of police officer that I inherited in Detective Beckett. He showed her the ropes, he gave her the base to build from, I was just able to reap the benefits from that training and then pass her on to Federal Service"

"Detective Beckett exhibited her drive, her knowledge, her crime solving ability to me and the rest of the department on a daily basis. Murders were solved. Families were given closure. Criminals were put behind bars where they deserved to be, by the strength of her will that was presented by this woman. That natural strength that was inside her from day one. That strength that was brought out by her drive to solve heinous and sometimes unusual crimes"

Kate is considering the statement just made. The drive was helped in no small part by one mystery writer. The writer everyone is avoiding mentioning.

"I saw the end result of a covert operation she was drawn into where she was able to take down a rogue agent. And as a result she helped in the capture of a home grown terrorist who was committed to the destruction of our way of life and saved the nation from irreparable damage."

Kate is looking into the audience watching many faces looking back in total admiration. Knowing full well, that this was not her alone in accomplishing these results

"I watched her investigate international kidnappers and help recover two young victims using her natural ability in the interrogation room to bring out the truth so these young women could come home safely"

"But also on a more humorous note I watched her confront a Zombie horde so a killer could be taken down"

A few chuckles are heard and she looks up "Yes I said Horde of Zombie Killers. If you want more details you can get them from her later. She tells the story much better than I ever could

She also tracked down and captured a sword wheedling Comic Strip Super Hero.

More laughs

"Yes this was a real person who actually wore a costume and carried a Samurai Sword then chased after criminals"

Kate has decided that there must be a concerted effort to leave Castle's part out of any and all descriptions in these cases. But Kate knows how important he was. She has decided that as long as she knows how important he was she will be able to live with that knowledge. At least for the moment. She will get her time to speak at the end of all this

"At one point the team under her command located and recovered an extremely valuable piece of art that had been hidden inside another piece of art. The killer was again found and brought to justice by her and her team"

"And when a television reporter wanted to receive national exposure by detonating a bomb at a protest rally, Detective Beckett led the group who brought the evidence and located the person responsible for the death and destruction

"Over the years with New York Police Department, Detective Katherine Beckett exemplified the very best in police work. We all missed her when she came to DC and I missed her the most, even though I gave her my highest recommendation for the job, I knew her talents would be better used on the national stage"

Chief Gates turn to face Beckett

"Director Katherine Beckett I want to congratulate you and all you have done for New York and now the nation. I know the agency will miss your leadership because I missed it when you left. Bu I will say that now you can spend more time in the most important things in life. Family"

Applause resounds again around the room.

At this point the President stands up and approaches the microphone

"I have no idea how to follow those speeches."

He looks over to Beckett then back out to the audience

"Unfortunately I had little the direct contact with Director Beckett over the years. She was usually completely immersed into protecting the citizens of this great nation or making sure her agents were where they needed to be and were safe in their duties. I only received briefings and summaries from her office. But I will tell you that they were impressive. Every time the FBI was brought up there was either some comment from the director clarifying the event or her reports were closures to open cases. Always there was resolution from her office."

Again the president looks toward her

"And each and every member of congress and the cabinet had one hundred percent trust in her, the agency and its ability to complete any task given to them"

"Unfortunately there is a lot more that happened that I cannot talk about. Over the years she and the agency took action that prevented another 9-11 or worse. But whenever these things were finished all she ever said was 'We were just doing the job we were hired to do' She always seemed to avoid the accolades she deserved and always pushed them over to someone else other than herself. Thus explaining why tonight has been all about Director Beckett."

Applause erupts again mostly from the New York contingent

"But now I actually have a sad duty for to perform" He picks up a large plaque from below the rostrum "I have to accept the loss of Director Beckett as she moves back to the private sector."

He holds up the award and before he begins reading "At least I get to present her with this commendation"

On Behalf of a grateful nation and in appreciation of Thirty Years in Federal Service

The Congress and President of the United States Wish to Bestow This Commendation to Katherine Houghton Beckett This the 6th Day of June 2043"

The plaque contains signatures of the President, the Speaker of the House, The President of the Senate and the Chief Justice along with The Attorney General

Applause again fills the room as she steps to the podium and accepts the award.


	4. Chapter 4

**One review asked if they will need tissues to read this?**

**I hope So**

**Because if not, then I failed in my plan**

* * *

The applause runs for several minutes much to Kate's embarrassment. When the din of noise finally settles down she turns her face to the podium and she tries to smile and speak, but the emotions in her heart are preventing her from being able to speak without choking back the tears

"Thank you Mr. President for those more than kind words."

Turning to the Attorney General "Mr. Attorney General I honestly do not deserve any accolades. I was just doing the job that had been given to me by your office"

She looks at the beautiful Walnut board with the bronze plate commemorating her service to the nation

"But I do thank you and I will be keeping the plaque, however."

"This will forever hold a place of honor in our home"

She looks down to her notes. Her heart full of emotion. She has now fully realized exactly why the evening went the way it did. There was a driving force controlling the direction of all the speakers, all the words of gratitude poured on top of Beckett.

"I want to thank everyone for being here tonight"

She puts the plaque down on the table

"All my fellow New York officers gave way too much credit to me for the job we all did there together. When I say all together I do mean as a team of officers and our one civilian"

Beckett is struggling to keep her emotions in check. Tonight is the completion of her life's work and it is never easy for anyone to close that door. Especially on a long history such as hers

"When Chief Gates mentioned a person who was a real driving force in my life she brought up Captain Roy Montgomery.

"She is right when she said Captain Montgomery give me a firm foundation to build my career on in law enforcement. But he really taught me more than just that. Roy gave me a lot of great training. But he also gave me some great advice. He left me with something intangible with his words."

Kate has stopped looking at her notes. They have become useless since she would have to try to read them with tear filled eyes

"Roy told me once that for us there are no victories, only battles and the best you can hope for is to find a place to take your stand. And if you're very lucky you find someone to stand with you."

"I was very lucky. I found someone who was willing to stand with me. He has stood with me for all of these years. Thirty five years ago he stood with me in New York. When I came to this city with fear in my heart, he still stood with me but tonight he stood in the shadows leaving me have this spotlight."

She looks to some tables at the rear of the room "Richard Castle I Love You more today than the day we married"

"I wish to close with a quote from a speech once given by my daughter at an event over 30 years ago."

Kate looks down to her script and then pulls out a yellowed piece of paper containing the speech. She takes a deep breath then begins

_"There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not, everything eventually ends._

_As much as I've looked forward to this day, I've always disliked endings._

_Last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend._

_But endings are inevitable_

_Leaves fall_

_You close the book_

_You say goodbye._

_Today is one of those days for us. Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable._

_We're moving on. But just because we're leaving, and that hurts, there are some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what. "_

_Beckett has to stop because she is having trouble reading thru the tears. Then she looks up toward the group of tables in the rear of the room. Secluded from the rest. Tables containing her family_

_"They are our solid ground. "_

She has to stop again "Please bear with me just a moment I want my family up here"

The group from this table gets up and starts toward the stage. Richard along with his daughter Dr. Alexis Castle-Hawkins along with her husband, Dr. Weldon Hawkins and their grown daughter, Martha Long and her husband Zachary both currently in medical school

Also Rick and Kate's two children. Their son Alexander and his sister Johanna

After they all arrive on stage, Rick pulls Kate into his arms and holds her as she continues

_"Our North Star._

_And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us"_

**"Always."**

Katherine Beckett-Castle and family step away from the podium as the applause fills the entire hotel


End file.
